Privacy advocates criticize the Deutsche Bahn’s plans to deploy body‑cams across the entire network and urge that passengers’ personal rights be preserved.
Alexander Roßnagel, the state data‑protection officer for Hessen who oversees the railway’s compliance, told the German news network RND that using body‑cams represents a “strong intrusion into the fundamental rights of the affected individuals”. He emphasized that while the protection of life and safety is of high legal value, the personal rights of passengers must also be taken into account. Consequently, recordings should only be taken on a case‑by‑case basis and be limited to the minimum extent possible.
Roßnagel added that passengers must be informed whenever they are being filmed and that cameras may only record in “escalating situations”. He stresses that the subsequent data processing must always be safeguarded against misuse.
The data‑protection foundation warned that the move toward “uninterrupted video surveillance of the public” is a dangerous step. Its scientific director, Kirsten Bock, explained that “stand‑by mode” creates a continuous recording, meaning that even non‑involved people-essentially as a sort of by‑catch-could be filmed. She cautions that such innocent individuals might quickly become targets of police investigations and would then have to defend themselves against the evidence.
Bock insists that the cameras should not be left on all the time or without a stand‑by mode. “When they are switched on, a clear notice must be made” she demanded.
The Deutsche Bahn announced on Friday that, following the fatal attack on a locomotive attendant, it will expand security measures, including the introduction of body‑cams.
